 A couple titles for this blog went through my head. The runners-up: “This is my mistake; let me make it good.” That sprang to mind when Senator Roark was planning to bomb the oil rig. “What a lovely way to say ‘I love you’.” Chloe. ‘Nuff said. In the end, I chose the title above because, as unhappy as I am with the show this season, and as ridiculous as things got as the day progressed…I will not stop watching “24.” I mean, the day is now over, and I’m still wondering: - What Wheelbarrow Wayne had to do in order to secure Jack’s release from Chinese custody in the first hour. Despite all of this, I will still watch the show next year. It didn’t flick the ‘Off’ switch in my head that, say, last Wednesday’s “American Idol” did. “24,” on the other hand, can be saved. But we’ll get to that in a minute. As Senator Roark is trying to save both his face and ass with the Russian president and American public respectively, I nearly laughed out loud at the proposition that he was giving them, his last-ditch effort to avoid a war. “What is your proposal, Mr. Vice President?” Wow. Hey Suvarov, I have this great plan to make money quickly. First, you give me $5,000 to join our group, then find three people to give you $5,000….What a gulli-bull. Meanwhile, Nadia gets a taste of the dark side by not following orders but ultimately doing the right thing, and the Ricker, as my wife was fond of pointing out, was blinded by science. Ow. On the bright side of life, Chloe’s pregnant, Karen and Big Balls Bill Buchanan (did I get that right, Giant Gary?) get to retire with their reputations intact, and Jack, once again, has to disappear, but not before saying goodbye to a sleeping Audrey. How many arrestable offenses did he commit today, six? Ten? More than one, no question. So how do you save “24” from itself? Well, due to the title, there is no shortening the episode slate, like “Lost” will from now on. I do think they were on to something, though, when they shifted the focus from one villain to another. The problem was they did it too late. Had they shifted focus closer to the midway point, they may have pulled it off. Either that or have one villain, a compelling villain, dominate the whole show. Here’s another idea: get out of Los Angeles. Spend some time on the left coast, maybe have some fun on South Padre Island (does anyone go there on spring break anymore? It was wicked popular when I was in college). Or, if you insist on staying in L.A., accept the consequences that your plot device gives you. They dropped a bomb on Los Angeles this year, yet continuously put its men in the field with little regard for the fallout. Maybe next year should be “24 Hours Later,” where the rage virus hits a major metropolitan area (don’t laugh, Fox owns the rights to that franchise), and it ends with Jack having to kill an infected Audrey. Whatever they decide to do with “24” next season, I’ll be waiting for them, hoping that they’ve changed, like a battered spouse. Until then, I have seven sweet, sweet months of blog-free Mondays to look forward to. Sweet dreams.
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Watching Jack Jack and the Ricker together on screen made me wonder - maybe the Ricker is his father! They sure do look alike.
I hate to say it, but I really don’t think you’re going to get many answers to that list of questions you posed.
I’m really happy this season is over. It was bittersweet though, because at some point last night I realized that I wasted 16 hours of my life (skipping commercials) watching this show. What’s worse, I know it’s (probably) going to be a lot better next season, so I’m sure I’ll be back for more like one of Pavlov’s dogs.
I was shocked by the lack of an event at the end of the season. They just faded out of a shot of Jack as he gazed at the ocean. Didn’t every other season end with some sort of cliffhanger? This might be a good sign, however, as it seems like the creators have gone back to the drawing board, and maybe they don’t want to tie themselves into any silly storylines just to have a cliffhanger at the end of this season.
David, Big Balls or 4B, either or.
I guess Chloe did not completely emasculate Morris or there would be no new O’Brian in their future.
Did you guys think that the implication of who was behind the Mr. Swank plot pointed to Roark? That was how I read it.
Is it my imagination or is Big Dick Heller a hideous looking human being? Looks like a toad.
While some of the concepts used last night were laughable, I enjoyed the finale. Nice to see Daddy Bauer get his, especially when Jack Jack shot him. Here’s a little gift for ya, Grandpa, for your trip to HELL! BLAM! Besides, could you imagine JJ in high school in China. He would be the only kid in school that couldn’t do calculus and felt that Taiwan was not the devil.
As was said earlier on the blog, looking forward to getting my Monday nights back, but also looking forward to next season.
Gotta love how Buchanan slipped into Tony Almeida mode at the end.
Dude’s old, but he can still hold his own.
It appeared that they were setting up Roark to be part of the conspiracy to remove Palmer from office, but a lot of things appear to be one thing, only to be abandoned mid-stream. Sigh.
I am not sure the father is dead….
While the last 2 hours were better than most of those before it, the season was not saved. It did set up new hope however, with Jack looking lost, contemplating going over the edge and with seemingly nowhere to turn. What little the media tells us, Jack doesn’t jump over the cliff, and ends up finding at least some peace with a job outside of the government. There is a hint that CTU will not be around next season, and that Jack will be away form LA. Many new cast members. Good.
As far as loose ends, this show has consistently not delivered everything in a nice neat package with a bow. There isn’t always a cliffhanger (perhaps ironic now) either, with Day 1 just ending on a downer, Day 2 with Jack going to the hospital over that whole heart stopping and being started thing, and Day 3 with Jack weeping in his CTU approved Ford Explorer.
Maybe a fresh start for the next day…
End of Day 2 Cliffhanger: President Palmer’s hand was bubbling after shaking hands with a mysterious woman.
They do need a fresh start.
Ah yes, forgot about the Palmer handshake. The mystery woman’s name escapes me, but she was also in early hours of Day 1, and Palmer gave her clemency in Day 3 I think. She had the drop on Tony, but Jack had helped capture her.
I was thinking Jack cliffhangers…
I am concerned as well that daddy bauer is not dead. Jack should have just shot him
The bisexual killer spy that tried to kill David Palmer is named either Mindy or Mandy. I think it’s Mandy. Ah, now, that was a great ending.
Yes, O Blogmeister, the character is Mandy indeed. Not afraid to take on anyone… Despite the fact that Season 2 is my now 2nd least fave, that ending is the best other than the shock value of Season 1.
My father asked me today if I thought Hoggett was really dead. He brought up that the boat was right there, and we don’t know how hurt he really was. Interesting…
Man, the end of the Chloe storyline was as bad as can be. She ought to be able to sue whoever scripted up her day.
I guess the Ricker won’t be taking Jack’s place, unless he comes back with a neat pirate eye patch… Could happen…
I thought for sure that 4B was toast. Glad that they didn’t take the usual way out and kill him, or Karen off. Somebody has to live happily ever after…
Wow! I am pretty sure that the finale was worth the previous 22 hours. To me, it had all the things that a 24 finale should have. Someone unexpected to save the day (Bill Buchanan), Jack taking a giant leap onto the helicopter rope ladder thingy (to which I raised both hands in the air and screamed, “no you didn’t”!), him dropping into the ocean (which is only necessary because it gave us a chance to see his rad bod) and his mysterious need to “go it alone from here”, and then the riveting scene between him and Dick Heller, which was not only a fine piece of acting but also gave us a window into that tortured soul of his…that tension for him of leaving it all behind and having some kind of life, but also knowing that apparently he alone has been charged with saving the world. If not you, then who, Jack? Who?!? I loved it!
On a side note, I decided at some point last night that I am so over Jack having to sneak around and go over people’s heads to do the right thing. Don’t you think that by now homeboy has earned the right make his own calls in the field whether or not his methods are unorthodox or not? I’m just saying if it was me and Jack said, “I think…”, I’d be like, “Whatever bro…I got your back. Make me look good.” I liked it better when CTU didn’t fight him on everything.
Here’s to next season!
I didn’t bother watching the last 4 hours.
I don’t want to wait till the end of Summer
, I want it now. Who with me?
save your time and join me.